US stocks lack direction, G-20 meet in focus

US stocks were mixed on Friday, with S&P 500 Index edging down 0.27 points, or 0.02 percent, to trade at 1,340.21 at 09:50 a.m. EST. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 14.04 points, or 0.11 percent, to trade at 12,332.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.07 percent to trade at 2,833.52.

Investors are cautious amid the G-20 meeting in Paris, where finance ministers and central bankers are expected to comment and address on economic imbalances between nations.

The sentiment is also likely to be weighed by China's move to raise its reserve requirement ratio for banks by 50 basis points.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that the maintenance of undervalued currencies by some countries has
contributed to a pattern of global spending that is unbalanced and unsustainable.

To achieve a more balanced international system over time, countries with excessive and unsustainable trade surpluses will need to allow their exchange rates to better reflect market fundamentals and increase their efforts to substitute domestic demand for exports, Bernanke said.

Markets, which will be closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday, are also keenly tracking latest developments in the Middle East where wave of protests inspired by the ouster of autocrats in Egypt and Tunisia have taken a violent turn.

On the corprate front, Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE:CPB) fell 5.55 percent to $33.01 in early trade after the company slashed its fiscal 2011 earnings forecast to $2.40 to $2.45 per share from $2.52 to $2.57 per share.

Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) jumped 13.12 percent to $6.81 after the company reported better than expected quarterly profit on Thursday.

On Thursday, stocks finished at fresh multi-year high as improved corporate earnings and manufacturing data overshadowed a bigger than expected rise in the number of people applying for unemployment benefits.

On the currency front, the euro strengthened 0.12 percent to 1.3626 against the dollar and the greenback gained 0.07 percent against the yen to 83.3748.

Crude oil futures fell 0.70 percent to $101.87/barrel while gold futures edged up 0.09 percent.

European stock markets are currently trading mixed with U.K. FTSE 100 down by 26.33 points, German DAX30 up by 12.69 points and French CAC 40 edging down by 1.06 points.